EasyPIC v7 is all about connectivity. It has four different connectors for each port, so you have four different ways to add accessory boards, sensors and your custom electronics. The board supports both 3.3V and 5V microcontrollers, and has an on-board PIC In-Circuit Debugger as well as an ICD socket in case you want to use an external debugger.

Every component of the board is identified with a silkscreen on both the top and bottom of the board. These marks describe connections to the microcontroller, operation modes, and additional information.

This board includes a PIC18F45K22 microcontroller in a 40-pin socket, but it features sockets for most other DIL-packaged PIC MCUs. This includes two 8-pin sockets, a 14-pin socket, two 18-pin sockets, a 20-pin socket, a 28-pin socket, and a 40-pin socket. Never plug in more than one chip at a time! The two 8-, and 18-pin sockets are there to support the different pinouts Microchip uses in those packages. Be sure to plug your chip into the correct socket, and check the user manual for VCAP and Oscillator jumper settings required for certain MCUs.

Note: The mikroBUS module, the 16×2 alphanumeric LCD and the graphical LCD shown in the picture are optional (see below). The Digital LED Display is included.

What's on board

Dual power supply

The board has a power supply unit capable of supporting both 3.3V and 5V microcontrollers. It can be powered via USB or from an external source via a barrel jack or a two-pole screw terminal. An on/off switch is provided.

mikroProg ICD

This built-in programmer/debugger supports more than 250 PIC microcontrollers. It is used with the free mikroProg Suite for PIC software. Its USB port is the one that can be used to power the board (the board has three USB ports for different functions).

ICD2/ICD3 connector

This RJ12 port is compatible with Microchip ICD2 and ICD3 debuggers and clones. With it, you can use your own in-circuit debugger and software combination instead of the built-in mikroProg.

USB connector

This USB port can be used with microcontrollers that support USB connectivity. Jumpers allow you to set the correct ports for your microcontroller (see the user manual). The ports used by USB will be disabled from the board's port headers to avoid conflicts.

mikroBUS sockets

Two mikroBUS sockets are provided. mikroBUS is a universal expansion port that mikroElektronika has developed to allow plug-and-play expansion. See the mikroBUS Category for a list of add-on boards that can be plugged into these sockets.

You can implement UART communication through the DB9 RS232 connector provided on the board.

USB-UART connector

If you don't have an RS232 port on your PC, UART communication also can be implemented via USB-UART which is achieved with an FT232RL virtual COM port driver.

4-digit, 7-segment display

This multiplexed LED display allows you to display four digits and decimal points.

Piezo buzzer

This piezo buzzer allows you to generate audible signals. It can be connected to two digital output pins, one of which is the PWM output.

DS1820 socket

This socket is for adding a Dallas DS1820 one-wire digital temperature sensor which could measure -55 to +125 degrees C with 0.5-degree accuracy. DS1820 not included.

LM35 socket

This socket is for adding a National LM35 analog temperature sensor which could measure -55 to +150 degrees C with as good as 0.25-degree accuracy (near room temperature) or an LM35DZ with 0 to +100°C at ±0.6°C accuracy. LM35 not included.

PIC18F45K22 MCU

The board comes with a PIC18F45K22 microcontroller in its 40-pin socket. The PIC18F45K22 has 64Kbytes program memory, 3896 bytes data memory, and supports 1.8V to 5V power. It operates at 16 MIPS and has 36 GPIO, 30 analog input, a DAC, CTMU, three 8-bit timers and four 16-bit timers. It also has two each of SPI, I2C, CCP and Comparator modules. You can replace the PIC18F45K22 with another PIC MCU. The board supports 350 different MCUs. View the Supported Devices List.

PORTA ~ PORTE I/O

On the right side of the board, each of these port I/O areas includes two 2×5 male pin headers, a 1×10 through-hole header, tri-state DIP switches to enable 4K7 pull-up or pull-down resistors on any desired port pin, a push button on each port pin, and an SMD LED with 1mA consumption on each port pin (that's 36 buttons and 36 LEDs).

Additional port I/O

Additional 2×5 male headers for each port are provided on the left side of the board for your convenience. Note that the mikroElektronika accessory boards with 2×5 female IDC10 connectors can not be used here because of the pinout. They should be used on the right-side port I/O areas.

2×16-character LCD connector

A connector is provided for adding an alphanumeric display. A plastic spacer is included to allow secure placement. LCD not included.

128×64-pixel GLCD connector

A connector also is provided for a graphical LCD. A plastic spacer also is included. A 4-wire resistive touchpanel connector and controller is on board too. GLCD and Touchpanel not included.

GLCD/LCD backlight control

GLCD and LCD backlight can be driven by a PWM signal or can be turned to full brightness.

GLCD/LCD contrast control

Separate potentiometers allow you to adjust the contrast levels of your GLCD and LCD individually.

ADC potentiometers

Two potentiometers allow you to simulate analog inputs. They can be connected to each of the 10 supported MCU analog input pins.

I2C EEPROM

You can store 8×256 bytes of configuration or other data in the 24AA01 Serial EEPROM on the board.

Crystal oscillator

The included 8MHz oscillator provides an external clock for the microcontroller's OSC pins.

Ground pins

Three ground pins are placed around the board so you can connect a GND reference with an oscilloscope probe wherever is most convenient for the task at hand.

Package contents

The board ships with a USB cable, printed documentation, and a DVD that has drivers, the mikroProg software, example code, and demo versions of the mikroC, mikroBASIC and mikroPascal compilers for PIC.

Expansion Modules

The add-on modules shown in the options below are just a small sampling of more than 160 accessory boards you can find in the mikroElektronika Accessory Boards category. See also the mikroBUS Category for plug-and-play expansion boards that utilize the mikroBUS ports on the EasyPICv7.